The Lady Wildcats and their supporters had a long, busy Saturday, hosting Bourbon, Steelville, St. James, Belle, Viburnum. Herculaneum, Licking, Jefferson and Warrenton in an action packed Cuba Varsity Volleyball Tournament.

Mike Voigt Gymnasium was split into two courts to accommodate the matches, which spanned from 8 a.m. until about 7:30 p.m., nearly 12 hours.

Cuba eventually came away with third place after defeating Steelville in two out of three sets in its final match of the evening. Licking won first place and Jefferson (Festus) took second place.

The Lady Cats are now 11-5-1 on the season and played in Linn Sept. 21 in its next match. The Black and Gold will host Belle Sept. 24 and play in St. James Sept. 29 and in Steelville Oct. 1 for their Pink Out Game.

Cuba’s junior varsity team continued its dominant run, defeating Salem and Kingston to extend its winning streak to nine games and to move to 9-1 on the season. The Lady Cats will host the Cuba JV Volleyball Tournament Sept. 26 at Mike Voigt Gymnasium. Sept. 14 vs. Salem

Cuba found themselves in an intense back-and-forth match against the Salem Lady Tigers. The Lady Wildcats won the first set 25-16 and lost the second set by the same margin. The third set between the two teams was a war of attrition that stretched well past 25 points, due to the win-by-two factor. Cuba was able to eventually come out on top, winning 31-29 to take a 2-1 set lead.

But Salem didn’t quit, earning a 25-21 win in the fourth set to extend the match to a fifth and final set. The fifth set was close, but the Lady Tigers were able to tame the Lady Cats, earning a 15-11 win to cap off a comeback victory. The loss dropped Cuba to 6-3 on the season and Salem went to 3-6 with the win.

Jaylen Haffer was especially active for Cuba, accumulating volleyball’s version of a quadruple double with 21 receptions, 20 digs, 12 kills and 10 blocks. Haffer also earned her 500th career dig during the match.

Harley Pilkenton and Justice Evrard also had heroic efforts despite the loss. Pilkenton tallied 19 receptions, 16 digs and 12 kills and Evrard registered 17 digs, a season and game-high 15 kills, nine receptions, eight blocks and two aces.

Mya Garbo recorded 18 receptions and had 12 digs. Brooke Echols totaled 19 assists and 10 digs. Allison Heads added 16 assists and 10 digs. Brooklyn Tate chipped in nine blocks, five serves received, three kills and two aces.

The Lady Wildcats’ junior varsity team won 25-17 and 25-23 in the first match up of the evening to earn its eight straight victory.

Claire Echols tallied 15 assists and nine digs, Payton Rhoades had seven digs, five kills and three receptions, Kam Peters added seven digs, seven receptions and two aces, Addison McGinnis recorded six receptions, five kills and two aces and Madelynn Myers had a team-high eight receptions. 

Sept. 17 vs. Kingston

The Lady Wildcats took a bus ride to Cadet to take on the Kingston Lady Cougars. Cuba’s junior varsity team played first and its strong play continued. The Lady Cats won 25-12 and 25-18 for its ninth straight victory.

McGinnis led the young Lady Wildcats with seven digs, three kills and three aces. Claire Echols had seven digs, five assists and three aces. Rhoades added five digs and three kills. Peters chipped in seven receptions and two kills. Emma Asher had three receptions and two kills.

Cuba’s varsity team was in for a closer fight, but the results were the same as its junior varsity. The Lady Wildcats won a close couple of first sets 25-23 and 25-22 before asserting their dominance with a 25-12 victory in the third and final set to send the program home without a loss in the evening. Cuba advanced to 7-3 with the victory and Kingston fell to 6-8-1 with the loss.

Pilkenton recorded 12 receptions, 10 digs, eight kills, three blocks and three aces in a strong all-around performance. Haffer had nine receptions, nine kills, seven blocks and five aces and another do it all showing. Evrard had a match-high 11 digs and seven aces, Garbo registered eight receptions and seven digs, Brooke Echols had nine assists and Heads chipped in seven assists. 

Sept. 19 Cuba Varsity Volleyball Tournament

The Lady Cats played 15 sets against six different opponents in a battle of physical and mental toughness spanning its whole day and into the evening.

Cuba started its day by defeating Bourbon and St. James each by straight sets. The Lady Cats then dropped both sets to Jefferson (Festus) before winning one and losing one set each to eventual champion, Licking. Cuba continued its long day of action by defeating Warrenton in straight sets and falling in two out of three sets in its second match up of the day to Jefferson (Festus).

The Lady Cats then played their final match in the third place game against Steelville. Cuba won the first set 25-21 and fell in the second set 25-17 to advance to a third and final tie breaking set. The Black and Gold summoned their last bit of energy to win 25-20 and take third place in the tournament and finish the day with a 4-2-1 record. Statistics from the tournament weren’t available.